Isnt that what it comes down to? Can he slow down the other teams best perimeter scorer, someone whom we have to get through in the playoffs?. Im not saying shut Durant down I never said that. But make him work harder, slow him down a little. At least in 1 on 1 situations where he prides himself thats all Im asking

If Durant scores 30 points, he scores 30 points. It's not any better or worse than anyone can expect.

What you HAVE to expect is that Gasol will come off the bench and dominate inside against inferior competition. And that Howard will use his speed, size, and athleticism to make Perkins irrelevant. And that Nash and Kobe will do an adequate job offensively taking care of the ball, not giving up fast break opportunities.

Isnt that what it comes down to? Can he slow down the other teams best perimeter scorer, someone whom we have to get through in the playoffs?. Im not saying shut Durant down I never said that. But make him work harder, slow him down a little. At least in 1 on 1 situations where he prides himself thats all Im asking

Sorry, but no. Young Kobe constantly torched prime Bruce Bowen in the playoffs, but that doesn't mean that Bruce Bowen wasn't a great defender. He was.

In order to contain a scorer of that caliber, it has to be a team effort. No one man can do it. We simply don't have the type of elite defensive team synergy/coaching to throw a guy like KD off his usual scoring game. If Durant's on fire tomorrow, there's very little MWP or any of the league's top perimeter defenders can do 1 on 1.

Listen this is how I feel...Pau's strengths in the post and in the paint. We were all at the point of no return with him not too long ago but hes had 3 straight fantastic shooting games and we've eased up on him. Same goes for MWP his strength is 1 on 1 defense, thats his forte, thats the matchup he wants ...just like Pau if MWP is getting it done in an area of the game that is specifically his strength then you wont hear any complaints from me. Thats all I have to say on this

But it's not because Metta has played fantastic defense all season long. In fact the only games in which he has played average defense have been against world class scorers/talents like LeBron, Durant, and Carmelo.

He's also shut down guys like Z. Randolph, tonight against Millsap, against Harden, sometimes against PGs in the league off of switches he can play well defensively.

When he struggles against world class talent you crush him, but when he plays well against the rest of the league you give him a passing "eh" type of answer.

Look at Perkins, hes a scrub, he gives like what 2 points 2 rebounds a game Lol I dont know hes barely noticeable when watching OKC games but he has one skill, he can slow down Dwight Howard, he can slow down Gasol, he has one noteable skill against the best post players in the game today going back to when Bynum was around. His presence you could make a case cost that team Harden but they know hes gonna make it hard as hell for our bigs whom they know they gotta get through in the playoffs. Thats how I look at Ron, we have to get through Durant hes the WCF champs after all so Im looking at it that way. Either you're there to help solving the Thunder or you make way for someone else who can contribute in other areas like transition D, 3 point shooting, etc even though they cant play D any better than you can on Durant

I hate that Peace is put into the position to even make decisions. He gets entirely too many touches on offense, no question. Who the eff told him its a good idea to put the ball on the floor or make decisions in transition? had his usual fair chunk of wtf moments.

"It is not how big you are, it is how big you play""Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it""Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals"

karacha wrote:Metta has to realize that he can't really dibble and especially cannot push the ball in the transition.

Yeah it's almost never a positive result when Metta leads the break, that's my only real complaint with him though. Another great game.

"Let me say one more thing about Kobe. He will be the best player in the history of the game. If he keeps doing what he's doing, there is no stopping him. He is that good." - Shaquille O'Neal in his autobiography, "Shaq Talks Back"

Metta World Peace says the Lakers have a chance to make "world history" ...

"It’s a fact that we got a chance to make world history here," World Peace said after the Lakers won their second game in a row by beating the Thunder to improve to 19-25. "We got a great situation. We got a chance to make history. This is a beautiful situation to be in, the situation we’re in. This is beautiful."

Metta World Peace says the Lakers have a chance to make "world history" ...

"It’s a fact that we got a chance to make world history here," World Peace said after the Lakers won their second game in a row by beating the Thunder to improve to 19-25. "We got a great situation. We got a chance to make history. This is a beautiful situation to be in, the situation we’re in. This is beautiful."

only a dumb person would rather be 19-25 than 34-10. They have to make it a challenge but this is a terrible situation to be in where you cannot rest anybody and have to keep going strong.

Also this is history nobody cares about. Nobody is going to cheer Howard, Nash, Kobe, Gasol "coming back" to make the playoffs...it is already the most spectecular flop in recent professional sports history. Only the championship would redeem their season.

"It is not how big you are, it is how big you play""Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it""Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals"

Metta World Peace says the Lakers have a chance to make "world history" ...

"It’s a fact that we got a chance to make world history here," World Peace said after the Lakers won their second game in a row by beating the Thunder to improve to 19-25. "We got a great situation. We got a chance to make history. This is a beautiful situation to be in, the situation we’re in. This is beautiful."

only a dumb person would rather be 19-25 than 34-10. They have to make it a challenge but this is a terrible situation to be in where you cannot rest anybody and have to keep going strong.

Also this is history nobody cares about. Nobody is going to cheer Howard, Nash, Kobe, Gasol "coming back" to make the playoffs...it is already the most spectacular flop in recent professional sports history. Only the championship would redeem their season.

I know what you are getting at here but I disagree.............. if this team turns things around, makes the playoffs and makes the WCF or loses a hard fought second round series with a legit contender than I think it would be successful considering all things......... this team would gain a lot of momentum leading into next year if that was the case..............

Even at the start of the season I thought WCF and a tough hard fought series would be enough to call this successful with the idea that next year would be the real year this team would be in position to go after the title as a cohesive unit. Now that the season is where it is the bar must be adjusted with the thought of next year and momentum in mind..........

"If the wolf is the strength of the pack, the pack is the strength of the wolf"